Wednesday, July 27, 2016

'53 axle swap....

On the list of things to do to the '53 was to swap the 8 lug 3/4 ton axles out with 1/2 ton 6 lug axles. The original wheels were a solid split rim design and the owner was having a difficult time finding an OEM style replacement. Combined with the fact that the truck rode terrible with the original springs, it made sense to swap everything out.

The front was relatively easy with the exception that the front shackles were froze. It took some heat, persuasion and time to get them to unfrozen. Luckily, between some spare parts that we had in inventory and the two front ends, the were enough good parts to put it all back together correctly.

The rear was a little more involved. The original mounted under the rear springs and the replacement that came from a '57 truck was setup to mount on top of the springs. The spring perches had to be removed and new ones placed in the correct location.

While everything was apart, we ended up taking a couple of the helper springs out of the leaf pack. This should make the truck ride a bit better...